We had a busy weekend, as ever. Our son was here on Saturday to help out with some outside jobs, so I had a baking session (which I always enjoy: baking is "me".) I made the top recipe using Blueberries and then some Raspberries from the freezer (home grown ones from last year). I didn't have a Passionfruit, so omitted that. This was scrummy, but sadly I got a "hit" (as in they affected my breathing) from the Raspberries, as on an Elimination Diet at the moment and hadn't had any for a year anyway. Danny went home with half of this and half of the Blueberry & Lemon Clafoutis (below), which was also very tasty and made using some lovely Duck eggs from our friend and neighbour Nikki. The colour of the yolk was almost orange from them being pasture-fed and it made the batter a beautiful Primrose colour.
For our lunch I made a pizza - just white pizza dough, sprinkled with 1/3 pack of Spicy Chicken pieces, and then sprinkled with Cheddar. Oh My - it was GOOD. I'll make that again. Sorry - no photos of that - we ate it too quickly!
No snazzy dishes for me - I just use my favourite battered old 50p (car boot sale) enamel dishes.
LOOK - this has NEVER been seen before. An empty bookcase. It used to hold my books on Edward Thomas and my poetry books. I had a cull of my Literary bookcase in the blue bedroom yesterday and emptied two shelves - enough to take all the books from this bookcase which I was keeping, but this was culled too and we took four big boxes of books to the Red Cross Book Shop in Llandeilo, to be rehomed (and to make them lots of money I hope). I even began a cull of my cookery books, and ruthlessly got 15 or so out and took most to the Charity table in Tesco to find new homes. Some are more valuable and I will list those on eBay.
I just hope that the Universe has cottoned on to my Downsizing Intentions and will send us a buyer SOON, especially as Danny persuaded me that yes, we could radically downsize to the cottage I liked the best (which Keith considered hopelessly small because we have too much furniture). Danny said we needed very little furniture and that 9/10 of it SHOULD be sold. They didn't want to inherit that problem when we shuffle off this mortal coil . . . That was SO liberating to hear. That said, some of our furniture is very beloved and it will be hard to choose which bits to keep for storage/use. If it's a piece that Keith has restored, he feels a deeper affinity than I do.
I had to go to the Doctor's yesterday - well, I saw the nurse-practitioner (new one on me), who was very helpful. We discussed my problems and the way my asthma is affected far more by what I am eating now, although the pollen on top at this time of year makes it so very much worse of course, and is the reason I've had to take a longer course of steroids - coming off them now, thank heavens, a week later than I wanted to be. I am booked in to see my very good respiratory nurse in 3 weeks' time, and I need to be referred onwards to see an Immunologist at Cardiff to try and sort out the gut problems regarding histamine intolerence/DAO levels etc, but meanwhile I am having to radically change what I am eating, and all dairy has to be sidelined for the moment as I had such a bad reaction last Sunday. So basically I am eating lots of vegan meals only with meat on the side, so to speak! Low-histamine fruit and veg only, and anti-inflammatory foods as well.
Breakfast this morning was an oaty pancake with blueberries. It was very . . . solid! You grind down your oats to make the flour, mix with - in my case - coconut milk. I omitted the two small bananas as they affect DAO in the gut, and then I fried up in a little coconut oil. The recipe said to pour the mixture into the pan - well it lumped in and the photo of little pancake looking things bore no resemblance to my lumpen effort with blueberries on the top. It felt like I had eaten a lead balloon afterwards and I think if I make it again it will be half the oats and more coconut milk!
Right, now I'm off down to make some Spicy Carrot Soup for lunches this week, with lots of anti-inflammatory ingredients.
